The invention relates to a guide wire holder for accommodating a medical guide wire and holding it in place, and for being affixed to a medical device, particularly to an endoscope. The guide wire holder has an affixation part through which the guide wire can be passed, and a guide wire carrier that is connected with the affixation part and projects away from the affixation part. The carrier permits holding the guide wire in place by means of a guide wire accommodation device, which contains a guide wire deflection element that deflects and tenses the guide wire at a distance from the affixation part, in a direction that leads away from a pass-through direction in the affixation part. The element is followed, at a further distance from the affixation part, by an additional guide wire deflection element.
According to the previously known state of the art, there are two fundamentally different solutions for holding a guide wire in place. According to the one solution, the friction at a plurality of projections having deflection surfaces that might have edges is utilized; these projections project laterally from a carrier part connected with an affixation part, and the guide wire is threaded around them. According to the other solution, the friction at the edges of openings that are situated in a holder plate is utilized; this plate can be affixed to a medical device by means of an affixation part.
A guide wire holder that serves for attachment of an elongated medical device, namely a guide wire on an elongated introduction device, particularly on an endoscope, belongs to the first solution mentioned (U.S. Pat. No. 7,637,863 B2; EP 1 654 026 B1). In this connection, the guide wire holder has a rib part that extends away from an affixation part for its affixation on an endoscope, on which part at least three projections that extend outward are provided, around which the guide wire is threaded. In this connection, the multiple projections make contact, in terms of friction, on opposite sides of the guide wire, at a distance from one another. Although relatively secure holding in place of a guide wire on the guide wire holder is made possible in this way, there is nevertheless a wish for a simpler holder structure, as compared with this known guide wire holder.
Furthermore, a guide wire holder (WO 2007/086876 A2) that has a guide wire deflection part and a guide wire securing part, which is provided with projections and/or grooves, belongs to the solution first mentioned. These projections and/or grooves are provided, as in the case of the known guide wire holder considered above, at least in triplicate. Although relatively secure holding in place of a guide wire on the guide wire holder is made possible in this way, too, the wish for a simpler holder structure as compared with this known guide wire holder nevertheless exists in this case, too.
A guide wire and catheter locking device (U.S. Pat. No. 7,060,052 B2; EP 1 079 883 B1; DE 699 26 124 T2) that can be affixed to an endoscope with an affixation device and that has an introduction opening for introduction of a guide wire in an essentially rigid body part that extends from the affixation device, and a locking slit for clamping the guide wire formed in the introduction opening, belongs to the other solution mentioned above. However, this method of securing the guide wire, with regard to its displacement, is sometimes not sufficient. Furthermore, the outside of the guide wire can be damaged as the result of even a slight displacement in the clamping position, as the result of excessively strong friction at the edges of the locking slit. Such a damaged guide wire is then no longer suitable for further use and therefore cannot be used.